A Friend to Always be There
by Tronnie
Summary: Sirius is gone, but can Padfoot help to get him back?  Sirius revival fic. AU. very slight slash. please R
1. Chapter 1

Remus was walking slowly down a street of huddled shops. It was a clear, sunny day, and that was the main reason he was out. Earlier that day Molly Weasley had suggested that he get some fresh air to try to cheer up. She wasn't the only one: most of his friends were worried about him. He guessed some of them—the older ones, perhaps—knew why he, in particular, had been so badly affected by the recent disaster.

Honestly, he had so little confidence in this "cheering him up", that he didn't even care where he ended up. So here he was, wandering along this street, lost in his own thoughts, and just killing enough time to appease Molly.

It had been almost two weeks and it still didn't seem real. Sirius was gone, and Remus seemed to be the last one to accept it. He just _couldn't_.

He unconsciously plodded past a small shop with a large window. Of the many things taped to it, there was a bright orange paper in the middle. It was meant to catch the attention of people so it could convey its message of a found dog.

The first thing that caught his eye was that the picture wasn't moving like a normal wizarding picture should. He walked over to examine the flyer further, and a closer look at the dog in the photo took his breath away. The image of a great black, shaggy dog stared back at him with intelligent eyes. Any other witch or wizard that looked at this would immediately think of the Grimm. But Remus didn't think of danger, he thought of a friend. Despite how hard he tried not to.

He grabbed the paper off the window and, without taking his eyes off it, absently walked into the shop. The shop turned out to be a little café and a small woman came up to him as he entered.

"Hello! Can I help—oh! I see you've seen my flyer. Do you know that dog?" She looked at the paper he had clutched in his hands.

Remus didn't answer her at first so she tried again.

"Have you lost a dog?"

He chuckled grimly. "More like a best friend."

She smiled. "I know what you mean. Man's best friend. Well, if you want, I can take you to see him; I get off work in ten minutes."

He was still a bit dazed, but the woman smiled again and said, "Coffee?"

Ten minutes later Remus found himself walking beside the woman on her way home and half listening to her talk. After awhile though, she had his full attention with the things she was saying.

"…found him wandering around about two weeks ago. He's been a delight to have around, though it'd be great if he were yours, I can't have a dog, really."

Remus stepped up closer to walk more beside her. She glanced over at him. "And he's the strangest dog I've ever seen! You can just look into his eyes and see that he knows exactly what you're saying. He's really smart and everything he does seems…human…"

By the time he knew it, they were at the door of a small wooden house with rose bushes around it and a small box with a red flag on the side. Remus gave it a funny look; he hadn't seen one of those since….

Then it struck him: this woman must be a Muggle. That explained the photo…

She opened the door and a big black blur flung itself at them. The huge dog jumped up at the woman but stopped dead when it saw Remus. It backed away a step and gazed at him with large black eyes. Eyes that Remus knew all too well. They made his knees buckle. He could feel his throat constrict and any words that might form were lost there.

"P-Padfoot…?" he whispered.

The woman was watching the scene. She giggled. "Padfoot, hmm? That's a cute name. He seems to recognize you."

But Remus wasn't listening, he was hardly breathing. He was simply staring into the eyes of the great black dog, who stared back equally enthralled. The dog tilted his head in contemplation and whimpered softly in frustration as if a memory was just escaping him.

"You see what I mean about his eyes?" The woman talked on. "Say, do you know what he is? I can't seem to tell…perhaps part Labrador?"

Remus waved her off impatiently. "What? No, he's an Animagus…" he said dismissively, completely forgetting who he was talking to.

"Ani—whatstis? Is that German?"

"What? No. Listen, miss, t-this is…my dog…"

"Oh good!" She trilled happily.

And so Remus found himself walking out the little front door followed by a dog that was hauntingly familiar to the one he knew could turn into his best friend. But that was impossible. Sirius was dead, and now Remus didn't know why he'd claimed the dog, but at the time, there had been no way he could've walked away from it.

During the short time since Remus had acquired the company of the black dog, he had been flooded with memories that he couldn't get rid of. The dog was unmistakably at least the mirror image of Padfoot if not—Remus dared not hope—his lost friend himself.

Even with his doubts, Remus noticed things that confirmed the woman's suspicious chatter about how strange the dog was. He, however, saw its behaviors not as strange, but on the contrary, very familiar.

He knew he had to get some answers, at the very least so he could kill the false hopes that had dared to invade his grieving. There was only one place he could go for that.

Ok here's the first chapter! I've never done a chapter story before so I hope this works.

Again, please R&R, although I won't threaten you by withholding chapters because I've already got it about done!


	2. Chapter 2

Dumbledore's office housed one of the select few fireplaces in the castle accessible by floo, and for that, Remus was very grateful as he and the black dog strode out of the green flames and into the presence of the Headmaster. Dumbledore was sitting at his wide oak desk and greeted them as if expecting them. Fawkes cooed and flew down to sit beside the dog.

"Ah, Remus, how good of you to visit. And...could this be…?" He gestured at the dog. Remus locked his eyes and seemed to brush off the question.

"Albums, could I possibly have some of your time? We desperately need answers."

Dumbledore considered them, his blue eyes seeing through him.

"Of course. How may I help you?"

Remus glanced down at the dog at his side and then back up at the wizard in front of him.

"C-Could you tell me…everything you know about…Animaguses."

Dumbledore continued to gaze at them, the tips of his long fingers placed together.

"Remus, my dear friend, surely you're not considering—"

"Please." Remus squeezed his eyes shut.

There was a long pause, after which the Headmaster conjured an old book out of nowhere and said finally, "I don't pretend to know a lot about that subject, however, I have read a number of books that have given me some knowledge you might find helpful."

He looked down at the cover of the book, encrypted in runes, which Remus could not read, and covered in pictures of many different animals intertwined to make one big picture. It reminded him of a Celtic Knot. He also noticed human forms mingled with the animals.

"What most people know about Animaguses, is that they are a human that can change their form into that of an animal. What most people don't know is that, when an Animagus transforms, he does not simply change his physical form to look like an animal, he actually borrows the body of a living organism that is very real on another plane of existence."

Remus looked quite confused and a little disturbed at this, but Padfoot was watching Dumbledore with fascination and clear understanding in his eyes. If he were a person, Remus thought, he would be listening with the air of hearing something he already knew, but found interesting to hear again.

Remus looked back at Dumbledore. "Another plane of existence? Like…?" He let the question drop however, because he really didn't even know what to ask.

"Oh yes. Not much is known about it though, except that it is not affected by our kind of magic, and possibly even _repels_ it."

Remus thought for a moment, but Dumbledore went on. "Also, the animal of which the body is borrowed is joined with the human Animagus through a connection of their souls. The soul of the human and the soul of the animal are merged. That is why the "human in animal form" has conscious thought and is quite more intelligent than the animal alone."

Remus guessed it was time to reveal to the Headmaster why he had come, although he was sure Dumbledore already knew. He cleared his throat against the constriction built up at the thought of such a hope.

"Um, Albus, this dog I've brought…I…have a feeling he's Padfoot. Er, Sirius, I mean."

Dumbledore smiled at him pleasantly. "Oh yes, I quite concur. Although you were right the first time: 'Padfoot', not Sirius."

Remus was so prepared for Dumbledore to not believed him, that he kept talking, trying to convince him again.

"I've seen Sirius transform so many times I could recognize him anywhere! And just look into his eyes: they're so human-like you can tell he can understand everything we're saying perfectly. And he's even starting to talk! He barks a sound that I swear is my name! Well…maybe more like 'Remuf', but I can tell. And when he howls, it sounds just like 'moony'—"

Remus stopped at Dumbledore's raised hand and followed his gaze down to the dog, who was looking up at Remus with an amused expression.

"Remus, as I've said, I believe you. Now, I think, the question on both our minds is 'how is this possible?'"

"Yes! I-I saw him die a-and fall through the Gateway…"

He stopped as Padfoot gave a low growl that got his attention. He seemed to be regarding him with a face that said "wrong! You can do better than that."

He let out a soft "Rrrremmuf."

Dumbledore, who had been watching the exchange, spoke up. "Perhaps what you think you saw was not the truth of the scene. Tell me, Remus, what do you know about that Gateway…?"

Remus looked at him. "Well…just what's common knowledge really…"

"'Common knowledge'? And what is that?"

"That the Gateway is a…well, a gateway to…other planes of existence…"

As he said it, it dawned on him.

"Albus! You don't think…? Is it the same plane…?"

The Headmaster gazed at him, like a teacher that was proud his pupil had gotten the connection himself.

"As I've said, I don't pretend to know much, but I would say there is a strong possibility that may be the case."

Remus closed his eyes. It still didn't matter. "I still saw him get hit by the curse…"

"Hmmm, indeed, we all did, didn't we? As I saw it, the curse was what pushed him into the Gateway in the first place, wasn't it? Perhaps even slightly before the curse fully hit him? I guess, then, that we can be grateful he was pushed into a place that repels our magic…"

Remus stared at him in stunned silence, torn between the overwhelming joy of that sliver of hope, and the frustration of the professor toying with him like some student when he'd had the answers all along. He decided to ignore the latter.

"So, then, he might still be…alive?" He could hardly believe he could choke the words out.

Dumbledore thought about this, apparently giving up the cat and mouse game Remus was angry about and giving it serious thought.

"Possibly. Although it is more likely that he is just stuck on the other side of the Gateway, meaning, of course, on that other plane of existence. I would guess that once Sirius was pushed into his world, Padfoot had to come to this one, probably because both cannot be in the same world at the same time."

Remus looked for all the world like a child begging to be right at something. "So, could he come back? Transform back into Sirius?"

Dumbledore sighed. "I believe that would be up to Padfoot." When Remus looked confused, he continued. "You see, Padfoot is the one in the commanding Animagus position now that he is the one on this plane. Although, I have a feeling that if he did decide to transform into Sirius, it would be to his own destruction. At the very least, he would probably not be able to ever change again. So if he did help you, it would mean sacrificing himself in order to restore Sirius to us."

Alrighty! Chap 2 This story was largely inspired by Helene's story "Beyond the Veil" go read it!! It's the best fic you'll ever read!! Also inspired by Guenwyvar from R.A. Salvatore's Drizzit books:P


	3. Chapter 3

For the next couple of days, Remus had tried everything. But, with all he'd tried, Padfoot had not been forthcoming with any effort to bring Sirius back.

Remus knew he was being selfish and he felt bad about it. But, sadly, when he looked past all else, deep into his heart, the bottom line was that he wanted Sirius back more than Padfoot.

The guilt ate away at him every time he begged the dog. He knew dogs were supposed to be selfless but it still hurt him. This was Padfoot, not just some dog. This dog was a part of Sirius, and he felt as though he were hurting him along with the innocent dog.

Still, he had spent over three days begging and pleading with Padfoot, desperately telling him what it would mean to him to have his Sirius back. Still nothing. Now he was on the verge of tears. He dropped to his knees in front of the dog sitting on the floor.

"Please. Please, please, Padfoot, I…I need him…" His words broke away into strangled sobs as he clung onto the shaggy ruff of the dog's neck and his tears fell into the carpet.

He knew he never should've let himself hope again.

Padfoot whimpered at him and tried to lick his face. But then Remus's control broke and he leapt at the dog with a roar. All his frustration and desperation exploded in that one lunge and he screamed at Padfoot.

"You! You stupid--! This is all your fault!"

When the dog dodged another grab from Remus, he picked up the nearest object and hurled it at him.

"Aaarg! I hate you!" he sobbed, "you know how much this means to me….."

Padfoot gazed at him from across the room with pleading eyes, as if begging him to understand something. But Remus was beyond the point of listening. He leapt for the dog once more and caught him. With one more roar of despair, he opened his front door and threw Padfoot out into the night.

The dog turned around and whimpered again, staring at Remus, but the distraught man slammed the door in his face.

Remus ran upstairs and threw himself onto his bed.

_Their bed_, he thought with a shudder.

He buried his face in the pillow to muffle his sobs from the listening ears of no one.

Already he felt sorry for what he'd done. Padfoot hadn't deserved that.

_No, he's deliberately keeping Sirius from me!_

As Remus tried to make excuses for his horrible behavior, he could hear a lonely dog howl from outside his window.

"_Mmmoooooooooooonnii—mo—mooo—Mmmooooonnieeeeeeee!" _

His sobs came even harder when he realized Padfoot was calling his name—a name that Sirius had given him all those years ago.

Chap 3!! I know it's short…. Oh well, there's another one coming soon! please R&R!!


	4. Chapter 4

First thing the next morning, after a night of guilty, sleepless tossing, Remus ran to his front door to find Padfoot and remedy his mistakes from the night before.

But the dog was nowhere to be found.

Remus sighed sadly. Of course he wasn't going to be there after how he'd been treated. Even still, he'd hoped, even assumed, that the closest thing to Sirius he had left would not have left him for good.

Wrong again. He hung his head and turned back inside, shutting the door quietly. This is what comes of hoping in hopeless situations, he thought. Instead of just shutting out the grief and trying to move on, what does he do?

Go on a wild goose chase to bring back the dead and win back his lost love.

Stupid.

Neither hide nor hair of Padfoot was seen again for almost three days. In that time, Remus had slumped into such a state of depression that he hadn't left his bedroom for days at a time, stooped to the new low of summoning food into the darkness for him. Even crying was beyond him, all he had now was brooding.

He should've just been happy with what he'd had. He'd been lucky. He'd found Padfoot after loosing Sirius and could've kept the dog as a friend and memory.

In the distance he heard another owl from his friends come flying up to his closed kitchen window. Just like all the others, it would scratch helplessly for a while, then fly back with the unread letter.

On the third day since the dog's departure, Remus was awakened from a restless slumber by a sound at his front door.

The owls must be getting desperate, he mused.

But he shot up at the next sound his impatient visitor made. From his front stoop he could clearly hear a dog bark "Rrremuff!"

He could hardly see from the tears in his eyes as he opened the door and a great black figure bounded in. He dropped to his knees and hugged the shaggy ruff. "Padfoot! I-I'm so sorry Padfoot…"

The dog barked again and jumped back happily, bowing like a puppy wanting to play. He sat down and stared back at Remus, who was watching him with some confusion. He could've sworn that dog was grinning just like a certain scruffy haired man he missed so much.

From his place on the floor a few feet away, Padfoot threw his head back in one last call of "Mmooooneeey," and then began to change.

Remus could hardly believe what he was seeing, even though he knew the sight of an Animagus transforming as well as his own reflection. Before he knew it, the form of the big dog had been fully replaced by that of a tall dark man with smiling eyes that was sitting in the floor looking across at him.

For the third time in less than a week, Remus's words caught in his throat and he was quite speechless. He could only stare amazed at the sight of Sirius back form the dead and sitting in front of him on his living room floor.

Sirius, however, didn't stay still for long, and leapt the few feet into Remus's arms and held him so tight he must've been trying to meld them together.

"Moony."

"S-Sirius…?"

Sirius pulled away and grinned at him.

"But…P-Padfoot…the Gateway…for a week…" Remus couldn't really form a coherent sentence, but Sirius knew what he meant.

"Remus, Dumbledore was right, about everything. The Gateway, the plane, and the magic of it…I've been there ever since Bella's curse hit me."

Then it struck Remus again. "The curse. I-It was a killing curse…"

"Didn't you listen, Moony? It didn't kill me, I've been over there healing…"

"For a week?"

"Yeah, well, 'Avada Kadvra' will do that for you, love…" Sirius chuckled.

But Remus was still confused. Happy, but confused. "But, Padfoot…"

"Padfoot had every intention of bringing me back, he was just stalling so I could fully heal."

Remus was then struck with a horrible sense of guilt and remorse. He turned his head down and cast his eyes at a patch of carpet to Sirius's left. "I was so awful to him…"

He closed his eyes and a tear streaked its way down his cheek.

Sirius reached up to wipe it. "Don't cry. He knows, and he understands. He's not mad at you. He wanted me to tell you…"

Remus looked up. "Is he…?"

"He's not dead, don't worry. He just can't come back. We're no longer connected, me and Padfoot. I can't transform anymore."

"I'm…sorry."

Sirius smiled and kissed him. "Don't be. I'm alive. Padfoot's alive. I'm happy; you're happy. So be happy!"

Remus smiled for what seemed like the first time in years. Sirius really had a way with words. The words of a three-year-old.

He stood up and embraced Sirius again, for a long time just standing there making sure it was real.

He could still smell that faint, pleasant doggy scent that would always smell like Sirius.

There you go! That's it. Tell me what ya thought! …Siriusly, please, I live off comments and reviews!


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